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Delaware Diamonds "Sparkle" in New Orleans
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Hello everyone,
I just wanted to let you know how the Delaware
Diamonds 16 & under team did at the Nationals in New Orleans. The Chesapeake
region should be very proud for they were well represented. The team outplayed
all of our expectations.
After winning the region championships all
of our spirits were high until we realized that the deadlines were so close
that it was almost impossible for us to attend. With the help of Skip Slawson
we were on our way with the paperwork. We tried to book a hotel and found
out that the city of New Orleans was completely booked. The closest
hotel was 50 miles out of the city. That’s when our fellow club MVSA stepped
in and helped us. They gave us a contact person to call in New Orleans
and we were very lucky in getting rooms in a hotel only 15 blocks from
the convention Center. “THANK YOU MVSA”. |
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| The first day of play was a surprise for us.
We were proud to be there and wanted to just play good ball. We did better
than that. Our first match was against a team from Utah. Those girls were
as big as their basketball team. We won the match in 2 games. We felt like
champs right then and there. We then lost to Chicago and St. Louis. The
next day we came in first place in our pool by defeating Massachusetts,
New York, and North Carolina. That made us the best on the East Coast.
The third day was tough and we lost to Illinois and Kentucky. On the final
day we lost to Seal Beach out of California. Our record was 4 matches won
5 lost. Our team position overall was 32 out of 64. |
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Because of great coaching by Hugh
Mitchell all season long the Delaware Diamonds were a force to be reckoned
with. (Mr. Mitchell and his daughter Kristen were unable to attend the
nationals because of a previous commitment) The team members in New Orleans
were: Melanie Adams, Sarah Booth, Laura Colosi, Leah DenHoed, Kayte
Hall, LeAnn Karr, Lindsay McDonough, Lindsay Miller, and Kelli Papili.
New Orleans was a blast!! We had some time
to see the sights. We visited the aquarium. We walked thru the French quarter
and shopped, shopped, shopped and shopped. We took beautiful pictures in
Jackson Square. We ventured down the famous Bourbon Street and saw many
colorful people. We ate in many famous restaurants such as; Planet Hollywood,
Hard Rock Cafe, Red Fish Grille, and last but definitely the most fun Jimmy
Buffet’s Margaritaville.
Everywhere you turned you saw volleyball players.
Even the Olympic team was in attendance. This was an awesome experience
for the players and the parents. Not only did the girls bond as friends
but the parents came home with new friends. I highly recommend this experience
to all teams. It’s a shame that all cannot attend. Next year the Nationals
will be held in Louisville, Kentucky. Hopefully, we will be returning,
but if not, whoever goes from our region will represent it well.
I would like to thank all of the parents of
each player. Without you and your support we couldn’t have done it. THANK
YOU.
Traci DenHoed
'Fill-in' Coach
Delaware Jr’s VB Club
For more info on Delaware Jr’s go to our web site
http://www.DelawareJuniors.org
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